Fact check: What's true and what's false about Ruth Bader Ginsburg
In the wake of Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, misinformation about her life and legacy has spread. The USA TODAY Fact Check team is dedicated to verifying claims and fighting misinformation. Here's a list of recent fact-checks related to Ginsburg:
On her life and things she said
Fact check: Viral posts falsely claim Ruth Bader Ginsburg had already died
There is no evidence to suggest Ginsburg died a year and half ago and was replaced by a body double, as she has made several public appearances in the last 18 months. The claim is false.
Fact check: Ruth Bader Ginsburg planned to stay on Supreme Court at least a few more years
Ginsburg never said her seat should have been vacated when she fell ill a year ago, making that claim false. She said that she planned to work as long as she could on several occasions, and maintained that staying on the court past Barack Obama's presidency was the right decision.
Fact check: In 2016, Ginsburg said a president is 'elected for four years not three years'
A post on social media conflates the Washington Post's paraphrasing of Ginsburg's words and her actual words. Her quote, about the confirmation of Judge Merrick Garland in 2016, was similar. But Ginsburg also recognized that the Senate had the power to act as it saw fit.
Fact check: No guarantee Obama would've replaced Ginsburg with a progressive justice
It's true that Ginsburg could have retired at age 80 to give President Barack Obama the opportunity to appoint a new judge, but there is little evidence that an "ultra-progressive" jurist would have taken her place, even with a Democratic Senate majority. The claim is missing context.
Fact check: Ruth Bader Ginsburg was confirmed in 42 days. But it wasn't an election year.
It only took 42 days from the time the Senate received Ginsburg's nomination until her confirmation vote, but it was not an election year. President Bill Clinton was elected in 1992, and Ginsburg was nominated in 1993.
On her record
Fact check: Ruth Bader Ginsburg had 'mixed' record on tribal law, Native American sovereignty
Calling Ginsburg "anti-Indian," as a viral post does, is missing context. She authored a heavily criticized decision in Sherril v. Oneida that denied tribal sovereignty, but she also authored opinions that affirmed tribal law.
Fact check: Ruth Bader Ginsburg wanted gender-neutral language, not lower age of consent
Ginsburg's reports from the 1970s were advocating for more gender-neutral language in federal law, not to lower the age of consent. To claim otherwise is false.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: What's true and what's false about Ruth Bader Ginsburg
